Tia Duerrmeyer April 2, 2021

The dream of a hygiene station for Lea County became a reality Thursday morning as the new Salvation Army facility officially opened. Hobbs mayor Sam Cobb was just one of many who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony that marked the grand opening.  Today’s celebration was also very special for Hobbs Salvation Army Corps Officer Lt….

Jim Harris March 30, 2021

Among hundreds of books, magazines, and documents, the Lea County Museum’s archives room contains a very small daybook from 1906 that belonged to Lea County rancher Matthew Sewalt. A rancher’s daybook is a daily log or a combination of a diary, chronicle, log, bookkeeping list, ledger, journal, or diary.  The Sewalt book is handwritten and…

Lura Jackson March 29, 2021

In a joyous return to in-person performances, the Community Players of Hobbs performed to raucous laughter with their first play of their 84th season: Mama Won’t Fly. The comedic play was well received by audiences both in-person and streaming online, particularly in light of the year’s need for comedic relief. Written in 2012 by Jamie…

Roland Foerster, Jr. March 27, 2021

A ferocious storm kicked up a massive amount of dust in Lea County and West Texas on Monday afternoon. The haboob (dust storm) caused residents in the area to lose power and telephone services. Strong wind gusts up to 80 mph damaged 30 transmission poles, and several wooden distribution poles, Lea County Electric Cooperative said….

Jack Campbell March 26, 2021

Making it. A colloquialism that has come to be relevant in the day to day of American life. Making it. Meaning you are getting by—some more so than others. Lea County is making it; we are getting by and getting through tough times, perhaps one of the toughest times our county has ever faced. Oil…

Jim Harris March 23, 2021

Over the last 20 years, I have seen literally thousands of standup and kneel-down, eyes-on-the camera photographs of cowboys. But there was something about this one picture from 79 years ago that was instantly arresting and provocative for me. For one thing, it had children in it, usually the older family portraits would be all…

Roland Foerster, Jr. March 19, 2021

Lea County is officially “Going Green” based on the latest COVID-19 reports released by the New Mexico Department of Health. For a county to qualify for a “Green” status in the state, the county must have eight or fewer daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, and a positive test rate of five percent or lower,…